French monument to Jewish soldiers defaced with swastikas

verdun, france (ap) | A monument at a French national cemetery to the Jewish soldiers who died during the Battle of Verdun was damaged overnight by vandals on May 7.

Swastikas and other neo-Nazi graffiti were painted in black across the monument, the centerpiece of the site's Jewish section, where soldiers who died during the famous World War I battle are buried. President Jacques Chirac denounced the "scandalous and irresponsible acts" as a "grave insult to the memory of French combatants," and the incident drew a swift condemnation of other French leaders as well.

"They offend the entire nation through the souvenir of its Jewish sons who died for France," a statement from the president's office said. Veterans Affairs Minister Hamlaoui Mekachera called for an investigation.

The incident came days after unidentified perpetrators spray-painted swastikas on tombstones at another Jewish burial site near the German border.

CRIF, an umbrella group representing major French Jewish organizations, denounced the vandalism. "This is history and France's honor that has been sullied," CRIF said in a statement.

Fifteen police investigators were taking part in the probe at the cemetery in Herrlisheim in eastern France.

In the last several years, France has suffered a wave of violence against Jewish schools, synagogues and cemeteries that coincided with new fighting in the Middle East.